Back at the turn of the year, I carried a 14kg weight for 5 miles everyday of the month, with a 4x4x48 challenge thrown in on the 19th, 20th & 21st January – read more about that HERE!
This was to raise awareness and funds for South Central Ambulance Charity, who fund Community First Responders / CFRs (of which I am one) in Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Hampshire. They fund the training, equipment, uniforms and much more.
The first week started off well and I was happy with the pacing, with the 5 miles taking me between 1.30 to 1.40 hours. A constant pace, not too intense, but breaking a hefty sweat. However, on Day 5 it all went wrong….. I woke up feeling rubbish, took a test and was positive with COVID within seconds of the test authenticating. This put me out for 10 days and thankfully I came out unscathed, making sure to give myself adequate rest before gambling with a weighted 5 miles. I did walk every day when it was nighttime and the streets were empty, moving up to 2 miles on day 6 and ramping up gradually to see what impact physical exertion would have.
None. Game on!
4x4x48 weekend was a push into the unknown. Untrained and with a recent ill spell, I carried on with the plan, as it fell on my late father’s birthday and meant way more than the challenge. I wanted to run the entire thing, but knew the weight was going to punish me, having ran 2 previous 4x4x48 challenges, unweighted but with exercises each round (Take 2). The biggest issues I’ve faced were feet related, I’m blister prone and with feet unaccustomed to weight or regular running, this was my greatest fear. Using Premax Anti Friction Balm, it kept little toes and heels well lubricated. Combing with fresh socks and switching shoes out, it helped maintain feet for 9 rounds. Alas, the pounding took its tole and my heels had deep blisters that didn’t hurt in the slightest but ran incredibly deep (it would take 3 weeks for these to heal post 4x4x48), with smaller blisters on little toes – my signature fail.
To add more to the challenge, I completed 12 rounds of 20 minutes of continuous CPR compressions, raising additional awareness online via instagram live. The arm pump was real.
On the final rounds, my amigo, coordinator and long buddy shift legend Steve joined me for 2 rounds, and my CETO, Community Engagement and Training Officer Tracy came for 1. The support was needed, I was hobbling due to the blisters and in the early hours had been having some pretty wild hallucinations.
4x4x48 complete, I opted to take a few days off to give my feet a chance of healing, as I was already 10 days behind my schedule.
What was noticeable, as soon as I started up with the daily walks was the weight felt a lot heavier. The impact of 12 repetitive rounds every 4 hours had clearly fatigue muscles more than I realised and the coming days would become harder to motivate myself to get through, nursing feet and working well passed my expected finish day.
As January rolled into February, the fun factor was lost and the mission to just complete it kicked in. Life had to continue and I couldn’t afford for any more hold ups or issues. A couple of double days brought the challenge to an end on the 8th February. Shoulders relieved, my pregnant partner happy to have me back and less shock to the body.
I was able to raise £655 (you can still donate if you want to support Community First Responders across Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Hampshire) and raise some awareness for bystander CPR and the important role volunteers play in community healthcare.
Thank you for all your support, messages & high 5s!
If you want to find out more about the challenge and what we do, I posted regularly updates and Q&A answers on my instagram throughout the month and feel free to contact me on instagram &/or here if you want to chat about CFRs, how you can help or tips for 4x4x48 challenges
To donate – https://www.justgiving.com/page/james-mackeddie-sca-charity-walkand4x4x48-2024
To find out more about South Central Ambulance Charity – https://scascharity.org.uk
James Mackeddie 